Artwork by Katsuhisa Toda, "Morning Gift"
I often find myself looking for the key
To unlock the great mysteries in my mind
I want to know the answers
I want to see the path
But so often that key is out of reach
And so I wear myself out
Reaching and climbing
Grasping and gasping for air
All the while the story of my life
Is still being written
And all I can see
Is what’s right in front of me
I can’t skip ahead
Try as I might
Can’t read the chapters yet to come
Can’t steal a peek at how it all turns out
But when I stop struggling
To break free of the present moment
When I allow myself
To embrace the limitations of now
I awaken to the beauty
In the middle of my story
The life rising up
In the in-between
I start to realize
That the key is an illusion
That the answers I seek
Can’t be grasped in a moment
The path will emerge as I walk it
Truth will unfold as I live it
If I learn to pay attention
To my life here and now